


Squirrel King

by The_Girl_Who_Escaped_Gallifrey19



Series: Markiplier Ego Madness [5]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Multi, Nice Author, Squirrel King, protective author
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-12-28 19:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21142025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Girl_Who_Escaped_Gallifrey19/pseuds/The_Girl_Who_Escaped_Gallifrey19
Summary: King is actually a squirrel that can shift into a human. The other egos of course just think he's a little nuts





	1. Ink and Nuts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Doctor_Discord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctor_Discord/gifts).
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another Discord inspired story. It came about thanks one of the Discord members talking about King being a waresquirrel and I wrote this in a little over 2hrs. Please enjoy.

Date: 23/10/19  
Time: 7:45am -9:40 am

Dark had been a little concerned when RJ and CJ told him about the naked man who had appeared shortly after the huge oak tree appeared. He hadn't been pleased when the Twins had told him they had thrown a shoe at him. Not long after Dark had spotted the giant red, white and brown squirrel sitting in the large oak tree. 

Dark had no idea where the oak tree had come from but guessed they were meant to have a new ego in the near future. King had no idea why he kept turned into a human. It happened _almost_ every time he went to the Human-Nest to gather food. The few times it hadn't happened he had been in the big oak. King had no idea why he kept turning into a human. 

The few times it hadn't happened he had been sitting in the oak tree. He would often watch the four humans inside and wonder how they were. They looked _almost_ identical. He only ever stayed long enough to collect the nuts and flowers the oak tree produced. Hoping he wouldn't turn into a human or he was seen by one of the humans inside the Human-Nest, particularly the ones with the camera. 

When he had first come across the huge, strange-smelling Human-Nest, the Twins tried to interview him. Then, threw a shoe at him the next time he went to the Human-Nest. He had been shocked at how many nuts, flowers and fruits the oak tree produced. He _knew_ it wasn't a normal tree. There was plenty of food for him and his subjects. 

The trees in his forest weren't producing as much as they had in the past. He knew about the cabin in the woods and the human that lived there. King saw him every now and then. He was unlike other humans King had seen and observed over the _many_ years he had been alive. He respected the environment even though he used a _lot of_ parchment. 

He respected the environment even though he used a _lot of_ parchment. He never left rubbish in the woods when he did, on occasion leave the cabin. There was something about the human that drew King to him. He hadn't been able to get close enough to tell if he was good or not. He got the chance the day the man came out of his cabin with a rectangle of bound paper. 

The human would sat under King's tree, he waited until the human was engrossed in his reading before jumping to a nearby tree, quietly making his way over to the human. The first thing he noticed when he got close enough as he looked like a younger version of the humans he had seen in the huge Human-Nest. 

He smelled like parchment and ink and coffee and nuts and... something else comforting. King quickly scampered up the nearby tree when The Human looked up and turned to look at him. He had brownish-gold eyes, his hair looked like toasted almonds or the acorns some humans ate during winter. King had no idea why he fellowed the human back to his cabin. 

He was different from the other humans and could be trusted. King was surprised when a wooden box filled with nuts, fruits, flowers, veggies, berries, cereal, bits of cheese, mushrooms, bird seeds and some leaves. It was a large box and was close enough to King's tree, that happened to be close to the Humans cabin. 

The wooden box was big enough even King could have a share of the food the human left out for him and his subjects. He subjected were nervous about eating from the feeder worrying he was planning on catching them, but King reassured them the human wasn't going to hurt them. He subjects were nervous about eating from the feeder worrying he was planning on catching them.

King reassured them The Human wasn't going to hurt them.

The Human came out to refill the feeder while King was eating from the nuts and mushrooms. King had been so startled he nearly fell off the branch. King knew he should run but he didn't. There was nothing to be scared of. This Human wouldn't hurt him as the other humans had. He leaned into the hands petting him, chittering a bit when The Human stopped. 

After that, The Human would leave the window near the wooden box open. King would often hear him talking to himself and couldn't help but listen in. He was a _really_ good storyteller. There were times where he would get frustrated and throw things. If frightened King the first time it happened. He had fallen off the feeder and hurt himself. 

The Human appeared shortly after, he still smelled like frustration, it soon faded into worry when he saw King curled up on the ground. He carefully picked up King and checked him over. Apologizing for frightening him. King stared at the human, wondering why he was apologizing. It was perfectly normal to be upset and frustrated. he would heal soon enough. 

King was shocked when The Human a pen out and wrote something on his wrist, King immediately felt better. I made him feel safe and warm. The Human smiled and pet King gently, he frowned when King pawed at the writing on his wrist and stared up at him. King sighed when The Human didn't seem to understand, he picked up the pen, then nudged The Human's hand wishing he could communicate with him.

He seemed to understand what King was asking and seemed a little amusing but not annoyed. He seemed to understand what King was asked and seemed a little amused but not annoyed. 

“I have the ability to make whatever I write possible. I’m sorry for scaring you. A scene in a book I’m writing isn’t working at the moment,” The human replied sighing and running a hand through his hair. King stared up at him, smiled and stole his pen. The human got up and chased him, trying to get the pen back. King couldn't help but laugh as the human chased him around. He let himself be caught when the frustrated scent faded. 

“You little rascal. Give me back. I can’t write without it,” The human scowled when he finally caught King who looked very smug. It took Arthur a few seconds to realise he no longer felt so frustrated. He stared at the giant red, brown and white squirrel wondering if he had that on purpose. There was something usual about this squirrel. 

For one he was far bigger than the other squirrel and seemed to understand what Arthur was saying. Arthur had no idea why he felt the need to put out food for the squirrels. There was something special about the giant red squirrel. Arthur had taken to write outside finding he was able to focus more when he was outside with Prince, as he had come to call the giant red squirrel. 

He didn't seem to mind the name. Whenever he was frustrated Prince would steal his pen and Arthur would chase him around until he caught him and got his pen back. Prince would sometimes sit on his shoulder, seeming to read what he was writing.

Arthur had taken to reading out loud and pointing to the words to words, repeating the sentence until he was certain Prince understood what he was saying. Soon enough the red squirrel began taking his pen and would scratch out words and point to another word. Arthur was both amused and frustrated. 

One day Arthur had to get more paper from inside and Prince had followed him into the cabin. There was a 'POOF' sound followed by the thud, when Arthur turned around he saw a naked brown-haired man wearing a cap and some sort of crown made out of leaves. 

He had a fluffy red and brown tail. he started to panic seemly not noticing Arthur was staring at him. Once Arthur had gotten over his momentary shock, he wrote some clothes into existence for the squirrel turned human. This wasn't the strangest thing he had seen. 

“Oh god not again,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The second one will be up soon. Please comment and tell me what you think and don't forget to leave a kudos. This is 3 pages and 1356 words long. For those wondering King is a mix between a Fox squirrel, a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel and a Malabar giant squirrel and is 70 or so inches tall. 
> 
> I've been debating this for a few months. I have created a Discord Server. If you want to join, you are more than welcome to join: https://discord.gg/Cnq28g


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King turns into a human and freaks out. Arthur manages to calm him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2 of Squirrel King, I hope you enjoy. I'm on a roll today. Three chapter. Two for this story and one for another story.

Date: 23/10/19  
Time: 10:17 am – 4:36 pm

"Oh god, not again," King yelped, jerking when he found himself wearing a loose-fitting shirt and pants, a hole for his tail. He stared up the human who seemed shocked. King couldn't stop himself from panicking hoping the human wouldn't be angry at him, chase him out or throw things at him like the two camera humans in the huge Human-Nest, did whenever they spotted him. Humans were unpredictable like that. 

"Calm down. It’s alright," Arthur tried to reassure, King stared up at the human shocked. Why _wasn't_ he screaming, yelling and throwing things at him like every other human? He wasn't used to a human being so calm about transformation. The first time he had changed, one of the camera humans threw a _shoe _at him, _after_ trying to interview him. He'd been more careful when going to the Human-Nest after that 

"You… you're not freaked out by this?"King asked, looking up at the human when he started to laugh. King stumbled when the Human pulled King off the ground, he wasn't expecting the Human to be so strong, he certainly didn't look it. King stepped back when he realised he was staring down at the Human. King had never gotten close enough to the human he'd met in the past to know how tall he was, it was mind binding to find he was taller than the Human.

The Human had gold streaks in his hair. 

“I already told you, I have the ability to make anything I write possible. This isn’t the strangest thing I’ve seen,” Arthur answered, tilting his head to look up at squirrel-turned-human, he was taller than Arthur thought he would be. He looked nervous and uncertain and his nose kept twitching. Arthur had to force himself not to stare at the squirrel-turned-humans tail as his fingers twitched. He knew from the many times he'd pet the squirrel that his fur was very soft. 

Arthur felt his fingers twitch. He really wanted to touch.

“How _isn’t_ this the strangest thing you’ve ever seen? What’s your name?” King asked, staring at his human, his tail curled around his bare feet. He wriggled his toes on the cool wooden floor, his fur tickling his feet. He was a little amused when he saw his Human's fingers twitch and _knew_ he wanted to pet his tail. It was something he did whenever he got the chance. King didn't mind, he found it relaxing. 

]King was confused when his human blushed and looked at the floor, clearly embarrassed about something. King tilted his head and purred a little knowing the sound calmed his human. Arthur opened his eyes to answer when there was a loud roar outside and paled a little, turning to look out the window with a fascinated look on his face. 

“Any creatures I write about happen to come to life. So no, seeing you turn into a human is not strange. My name is Arthur Cordelian,” Arthur answered glancing out the window. King stared at him, he had always wondered where the magical, mythical and supernatural creatures that lived in the forest come from. Despite how dangerous some of them were King knew they would never hurt him or his subjects

“Ah, that would explain the creature then. I’m the King of the Squirrel. Do you know why I keep turning into a human? It happens whenever I go near the giant human-nest,” King replied, stumbling toward into Arthur when he tried to walk not used to standing upright. Arthur smiled, pulling King over to a chair next to his desk _littered_ with paper. He had yet to organise the paper for his new book. 

“I don’t know. What human-nest?” Arthur questioned, watching in amusement as King curled up in his desk chair, wrapping his cap around his legs. Despite being human he still acted very much like a squirrel it was more than a little amusing. Arthur had no idea how he would react if something were to happen to King. He cared about the squirrel even though he had only known him for a little over seven months. 

“The human-nest outside the forest. The one with the huge oak tree next to the human-nest. I used to get most of my _chitter, chitter_ from there beside you put out that box, the forest isn’t producing as much _chitter, chitter _as it used to,” King answered, hoping his human would be able to understand him. He didn't know the human word for the food he gathered. Arthur stared at him for a few seconds. 

“You mean the Manor outside the forest. Human’s call it a house. I’ve noticed the tree aren’t producing as much fruit and nuts as they did 20 years ago,” Arthur commented grinned at the interested look on King's face. Arthur started to recover. It took a long time but Arthur never got irritated or annoyed with King. In return, King taught him a little about the forest. Arthur did his best to help the forest with his powers.

It was slow going at first, but that forest eventually started to recover. Arthur tried not to throw things when he was frustrated but he sometimes forgot and threw something startling King or one of the other squirrels who ate from the box feeder outside his window. They had become more comfortable with being seen after he helped King managed his transformation into a human. It took them a while to get used to King being a human but soon become comfortable with him. 

Arthur was shocked when King told him there were around 300 squirrels living in the forest surrounding his cabin. King's tree existed in all the forest around the world. It was the biggest. He could if, he wanted to travel to the human world and would, on occasion to observe humans and to gather food. Arthur found King's method of transportation interesting thus he wasn't surprised when he found out King was the Guardian of the Forest. 

Because of this, he had nature magic. His magic had gotten stronger after Arthur used his powers to help the forest. He hadn't felt this good in years. Arthur had gotten into the habit of writing clothes into existence whatever he heard the tell-tail "POOF" that came with King shifting into a human. It happened at random times. One particularly memorable occasion including King shifting while he was eating from the box feeder and he fell out of the tree. 

It was quite memorable. Arthur wouldn't let him live it down. King had been showing Arthur the quickest ways through the forest as a squirrel and accidentally wandered to close to the huge Human-Nest. Resulting in pink-haired human point a gun at Arthur. King had not been pleased about that. No one hurt his human while he was around. 

“Who are you and what you doing on our property?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you reading. Stay tuned to find out what happens next. How will Arthur react to seeing Wilford again and how will Arthur explain how he ended up on the Manor grounds and why he has a giant squirrel with him. 
> 
> Please comment and kudos. Its very appreciated.


	3. Ink, Nuts & Iron Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and King first meeting with Wilford and their first two weeks in the Manor don't end so well. The Jim's meet The Author and find out just how dangerous he can be after they hurt King.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the newest chapter of the story. Sorry, this one took so long to get up. I was having a bit of trouble while writing the beginning but I managed to get it worked out. Warning: The Jim's are Chaos incarnate and are NOT nice but there is a very good reason as to why they are that way that will be expalined later in the story. 
> 
> Please Enjoy.

Date: 24/10/19  
Time: 9:10 am – 4:50 pm

"Who are you and what are you going on our property?" The pink-haired human with the gun demanded. Arthur started at William. He looked older and had a moustache and coloured hair but he still William Barnum. There was something not ... quite right about him. Like something was missing or not completely there but Arthur had no idea what it was. He was brought out his thought when he felt King curl around his shoulders. 

His tail covered Arthur's throat as he chittered at William. Arthur had to stop himself from smiling at how protective King was of him. He had asked King _why_ he was so protective of him. The King of squirrels had looked embarrassed and had changed the subject by asking what he was writing about, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Arthur decided to leave him alone, knowing he would find out later. 

"Will, who is it?" A familiar voice yelled inside, Arthur stared as Damien walked up behind William. He... looked like Damien but not at the same time. He seemed startled to see Arthur though he wasn't sure why. Arthur opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He never thought he would see Damien, William or Mark after they stopped came to see him _and_ stopped replying to the messages he sent them through the enchanted parchment. 

"I... I'm Arthur Cordelian. I live in a cabin in the forest. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," Arthur answered, staring at Damien and William, slowly petting King trying to get him to calm down. William had lowered his gun but hadn't yet put away. Arthur made sure to keep his hands in William sight at all times. William stared at Arthur, he felt like he should know who Arthur was but... didn't

He could vaguely remember sitting around the campfire with Damien, Mark and Arthur at something Arthur was telling them as they ate smores and being tied to a chair by Arthur and being hit repeatedly with a metal bat and yet not feeling panicked or any pain from the hits. he tightened his hold on his gun wondering where the memories were coming from. Introducing "Prince" to Dark, Wilford, RJ and CJ officially wasn't fun. 

It was also their introduction to The Author. RJ and CJ had thrown a heavy shoe at King making him fall and hit his head and were alarmed when they found themselves pinned to the wall. The previously unassuming new ego suddenly looked _far_ more threatening. He looked like he was _possibly _contemplating how to kill them as the giant fluffy squirrel scrambled up to his body, curling around Arthur burying his face in Arthur's cheek 

"What the fuck is _that_ thing?" RJ yelled The Author didn't care which one it was as he comforted King who just shivered and curled tighter around his neck. Dark wanted to say something but knew better and stayed quite. He knew very well what The Author was like when he was upset, angry and frustrated. RJ and CJ had been giving him and Wilford hell since they arrived, they were much like toddlers who got _into everything _and wouldn't listen to _anything_ Dark or Wilford had said.

"**This, you _brats_, is Prince, my companion. Leave him alone,**" The Author snapped, glaring at RJ and CJ. He knew they had thrown a shoe at King when he had accidentally wandered onto the Manor grounds for the first time. King had been wary about being inside the Human-Nest, things had been okay for the first week. Arthur had taken to carrying of bag nuts, fruits, flowers and mushrooms so King could eat due to King not touching any of the food Dark provided for him. 

"So what? What are you going to do about it? Kill us?" CJ yelled, gasping when he and his brothers were pushed harder against the wall. The Author looked like he was _definitely _planning on killing them. It was then they realised they _may _have made a mistake by throwing a heavy shoe at him and trying to poison the food Dark provided for the stupid squirrel but he refused to eat it. The vermin was irritating ann was almost always with Arthur.

"Kill you? No, but you'll wish I had by the time I'm done," The Author promised, glaring at them before realising RJ and CJ and stalking out of the kitchen and back to the library underneath the manor. RJ and CJ hugged each of other, shaken. The Author was far scarier then Dark which was something as the older man was _terrifying_ when he wanted to be. They turned to Dark wondering why he hadn't done anything to stop Author from hurting them. 

"Who was _that _and why didn't you do anything," RJ and CJ demanded, Dark said he would look after them when they arrived outside the Manor scared and confused but he hadn't done anything to stop Arthur from hurting them. They were going to have bruises. Wilford turned to Dark wondering why he hadn't stepped in. Dark looked like he wanted to be anywhere but being in the same room as Arthur and Wilford weren't sure why.

He had been started and scared but knew The Author wasn't going to hurt him and wasn't sure why. He had never met Arthur before this. 

"_That _was The Author. There wasn't anything I _could_ do. He is _very_ possessive of those he considered his and doesn't take kindly to them being hurt. He won't kill you but you _will very_ much wish he _had_ killed you by the time he's done," Dark explained, shivering a little. He hadn't seen The Author _that_ mad since the Evan's Twin's locked him outside. In the middle of a snowstorm, in the middle of winter, at _3 am_ and dumped water on him. He was threatened to tie The Chair in his cabin and beat them up with his mental bat.

Dark knew Arthur had never actually killed anyone but was more capable of it. He didn't, because hiding a body was hard and caused a _lot_ of unwanted questions and paperwork. Arthur much prefered to stick to blackmail, he somehow _knew_ things about them. It's been incredibly creepy when they first met him.

* * *

**In the Library**

As soon as the door to the library was closed and Arthur put King on the ground, he turned into a human and curled into a little ball. His chest was black, blue and yellow as were his arms and there was a long, deep cut on the side of his face. Arthur _knew_ all that couldn't have been caused by RJ and CJ _just_ throwing the shoe at King. He could feel The Author reactions to King's injuries, his aura spreading around the room. 

Arthur had noticed how clingy King had been over the last week, being _very_ reluctant to leave Arthur's side for any reason outside the library or the room Arthur had been giving upstairs with the other egos. 

“King, are you alright, what happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please don't forget to comment and tell me what you thought of this chapter. If you love it leave a kudos. I will try and get chapter 2 post today if I don't have to much trouble with it.


	4. Stained Ink, Burnt Nuts & Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur fixes and comforts King, the Jim's learn the hard way the consequences of hurting 'Prince'. Dr Iplier finally arrives and King gets introduced to the other egos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I meant to post this yesterday but I had a few ... problems with it.

Date: 25/10/19 – 26/10/19  
Time: 3:56 pm – 2:35 am

“King, are you alright? What happened?” Arthur demanded, alarmed when King groaned and curled into a tighter ball. Arthur kneeled next to him not knowing what to do. He knew if he used to heal King's injures but that would take a lot of energy given how bad he injures were, the cuts on the side of King's head were bleeding sluggishly. 

"The twins pushed me, threw things at me and poisoned the food Dark provided for me last week," King gasped when Arthur pressed a cloth against the bleeding cut a little too hard, King looked up at his human when he heard Arthur growl. Black ink seemed to drip from Arthur's back as what little light in the room disappeared as his aura spread through the room. The Author was _displeased_, to say the least, to say the least.

Arthur carefully picked King up and put him on the bed and started to clean him up. His injures were more serious than they looked. It took several _long_ hours with plenty of breaks for Arthur to heal his friend. RJ and CJ would _pay._ They would regret hurting King. King _knew_ RJ and CJ were going to learn the hard way upsetting someone who could create an entire _universe_ with very little effort was a _bad_ idea. Arthur had told King that The Author was his powers as a person.

The Author was incredibly kind and caring when he _wasn't _frustrated about not being able to write a scene. The Author had told him about the three boys who used to help him with his stories. King remembered the three boys well. They came to visit King every two weeks and would stay for three days at a time before going home. They were the original reason he found Arthur's cabin.

He had decided to follow then he had been concerned when he saw them walk past his tree covered in cuts and bruises and blood. He always wondered what happened, he knew the human never hurt the children, no matter how much they screamed and begged him not to hurt them. They were in no danger. King loved to listening to Arthur's stories about Damien, William, Mark and Matthew. They were in no danger.

King loved to listen to Arthur's stories about Damien, William, Mark and Matthew. He knew his human missed the children. Arthur had come to care a lot about then in the 20 years they had visited. Dark looked up when he felt... something familiar spreading through the manor. It reached his office. It looked like inky shadows, but Dark knew it was The Author. He did _not_ look pleased as he stepped into Dark's office not saying a word.

His glowing gold eyes promised pain and Dark winced knowing RJ and Cj were going to learn a _very_ painful lesson. Over the next six months, nothing seemed to go right for RJ and CJ. Their equipment would stop working inconvenient times, they wouldn't be able to find something important until _after_ they needed it. Sitting on their bed. Their food tasted metallic and leave a bad taste in their mouths.

They had to cancel their interviews as they were unable to leave the manor. Dark was alarmed when he woke up on the ceiling. He had fallen and landed hard on the ground, a soft bed lying not far away. Sitting on their bed. Their food would taste metallic and leave a bad taste in their mouths. They had to cancel some of their interviews as they were unable to leave the manor. Dark was alarmed when he woke up on the ceiling.

He had fallen and landed hard on the ground, a soft bed lying not far away. Dark knew The Author would never hurt him on purpose and knew the bed had been moved. It didn't take long to figure out who was responsible. RJ and CJ had been nothing but trouble since they had moved in two years ago. RJ and CJ and their camera crew and those who worked in the studio learned to fear Arthur's inky black aura.

It would leave black stains on anything it touched. Anyone who complained or made vague threats about Prince found _everything _that could go wrong did go wrong at the _worst_ possible times. It stopped as soon as they apologised, they were just stressed and didn't mean it. 

The day one of the aids made the mistakes of voicing his opinion that Arthur was 'creepy' and 'always stayed in the library, likely planning how to murder them' was the day everyone in the manor learned that Prince was just as protective of Arthur as Arthur was of him. Arthur was the first ego to greet Dr Iplier when he arrived outside the Manor. Arthur was perfectly charming, freaking RJ, CJ and Wilford out. 

Arthur had a magnetic sort of personality, that drew people to him and made them _want_ to do what he said. Much like Dark and Marcus. It was terrifying. They found The Author was (despite being Arthur's aura as a physical person) was kind and caring as long as he wasn't upset, frustrated or angry about something to do with his stories because a scene was being difficult. He usually went back to the cabin.

It was usually a few days before he would come back and act like nothing had happened and that everything was fine. 

"Hello Dr Iplier, welcome. Ignore the two idiots," Arthur greeted Dr Iplier when he opened the door when he heard The Twins screaming, he wasn't surprised when he saw they were being chased by squirrels, who had moved into the oak trees. The newest egos looked rather startled and maybe a little concerned as one of the squirrels' bit RJ making him scream. 

"Hel...lo. Thank you, is that normal? What's your name?" Dr Iplier questioning pointing towards RJ as he was knocked to the ground, pulling his brother down with him, dozens of squirrels proceeded to swarm them, biting and scratching them. Arthur stared at them wondering what they had done to anger King's subjects. This time. The squirrels rarely attacked anyone unless the person they were attacking had done something serious. 

"Not usually, but The Jim's aren't exactly on their good side at the moment. _Prince_, please control your subjects. I don't want to have to fix their injuries again. I'm Arthur Cordelian," Arthur replied whistling sharply. Dr Iplier watched as a giant red, black, brown and white squirrel... appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto Arthur's shoulder and chittered loudly. The squirrels stopped, one chittered something return before leaving RJ and CJ alone. 

Arthur had somehow become the temporary doctor due to him being able to 'heal' any of the injures the egos had. He had to fix the injures RJ and CJ _somehow_ sustained, they didn't often asked Arthur to heal them, they had the presence of mind to know if they _did_ go to Arthur it would take longer for their injuries to heal. Dr Iplier introduced Dr Iplier to Prince nad the other egos. Dr Iplier office was upstairs.

They apparently knew he had been coming for a while as the Manor suddenly had a medical room and an extra bedroom and bathroom it didn't have three weeks ago. He was fascinated by the relationship Arthur had with Prince. If the squirrel wasn't with Arthur then he was in the unground library or in the oak tree outside the manor. He had heard Arthur talking to himself at night but passed it off as him speaking to Prince or writing a story. He had found everyone had their own space inside the manor. 

Dark had his office, Arthur had his library and recording studio, Wilford, the Jim's and Bim had the studio. He couldn't help but wonder who the huge oak tree and the room next to Arthur's were for. King was outside in the oak when he suddenly turned into a human and fell out of said tree. RJ and CJ were about to throw a shoe at him but stopped when they saw the look on Arthur's face.

RJ, CJ, Wilford, Dr Iplier and Dark watched as Arthur helped the brown-haired man to his feet and check him over for any injuries. He was wearing a simple white shirt, cargo pants and a cloak made of leaves. 

"Ow, why does that keep happening?" King muttered, ignoring RJ, CJ, Wilford, Dark and Dr Iplier as he let Arthur pull him to his feet and check him over. He leaned against Arthur. He always felt tingly and dizzy after shifting. This time was different. There was no dizziness and was able to stand without looking like an idiot. King comforted the concerned squirrel that jumped onto his shoulder before turning his attention to the other egos who had followed Arthur outside. 

King smiled at his human and reassured him he was fine and wasn't hurt. 

“Who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Don't forget to comment and tell me what you think. This chapter unedited, I will edit it later when its not 2:45 am on Saturday morning and I can actually keep my eyes open longer than 60 seconds. This chapter is 4 pages and 1,323 words long.


	5. Bloody Ink, Burnt Nuts, Bandages & Guns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Iplier arrives and tries to adjust to the madhouse that is the manor. King finally makes an appearance and the egos learn a few interesting details about Arthur they didn't previously know with King around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm sorry I'm posting this so late. I've had been super busy and haven't had the chance. I got a job on Monday and thus have been VERY tired though manage to get this chapter finished in one go. Please enjoy

Date: 29/10/19 – 30/10/19  
Time: 8:38 pm – 12:24 am

“Who are you?” CJ demanded, glaring at King before he could say anything. King closed his eyes briefly and smiled at RJ and CJ knowing he had to act like he had _no idea_ who they were for the time being. His smile widened when one of the nearby squirrels chittered, informing him that RJ and CJ had been throwing things at them and put poison in their food much to King's displeasure

“I’m the King of the Squirrels. Why were you throwing things at my subjects and poisoning their food?” King questioned in return; the easy-going on his face belied how angry he was. Had they not been laughing they would have realised the smile didn't reach King's eyes. Arthur shivered at the cold look in King's eyes. There were times the squirrel turned human scared him. 

He would sometimes act like a child. Other times he seemed _far_ older than the 26-years of his human form, giving the impression he knew more than he was letting on. 

“Because it’s fun and they stole our food,” RJ answered, King stared at them, trying to keep the smile on his face but it was hard. _Very _hard. His subjects _never_ took food from humans unless they were sure the humans were done with it. RJ and CJ must have left their food sitting out, walked away and his subjects thought they were done with it.

“Next time don’t leave your food unattended. Hi Arthur, had anymore process with the scene?” King stated, turning and following him into the Manor leaving RJ, CJ, Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier to stare after them. It sounded like King already _knew_ Arthur was comfortable around him even though he had just met Arthur. True he was a little nervous and jittery but that tended to happen when they first appeared. 

Over the following fortnight Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier noticed how close Arthur and King were. King would often look at Arthur before doing something. Sometimes Prince was with Arthur, King was presumably in his room or in the treehouse (it appeared shortly after King appeared but no one noticed). There was always a squirrel with King but never Prince. He was always with Arthur. They thought he was a _little_ delusional.

There was no way he could actually be _the_ King of the Squirrels

“… wasn’t my fault, they … OW … Arthur do you have to be so rough…” King yelped loudly. Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier paused on their way to the kitchen when they heard King yelp and curse. It wasn't often King yelled or cursed. King never cursed, at least they didn't _think_ he cursed. He hadn't been around long enough for them to know it was a common occurrence.

“Oh, stop it. I’m not pressing that hard. You need to be more careful. What the hell were you doing?” Arthur snapped, completely ignoring the yelps and cursing coming from King. Dark and Wilford shared a concerned look wondering what was on and what was causing King to curse and yelp. It was getting to a rather painful pitch. That _really_ shouldn't have been possible yet King somehow managed it. 

“They threw a _shoe_ at me. Again. They did it on purpose. One of the younger squirrel’s is learning to … and needed a little help … got stuck near the top … hit me and I fell,” King yelped loudly getting Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier's attention. They shared a concerned look wondering what was going on. They hadn't known King had fallen out of the tree, or that it had happened before. 

He seemed to be doing that a lot. Arthur sounded frustrated, Dark knew _very well _what happened when Arthur got frustrated. It usually resulted in someone ended up with bruises, Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier made their way to the kitchen, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. They couldn't help but stare when King walked into the kitchen with a red cloak, a large bruise cover the right side of his face. 

He had numerous cuts and scratches covering his arms, face and what visible of his legs. He also appeared to be limping. There was a black bandage wrapped around the top of his left arm. King was picking at the bandage but stopped when Arthur glared at him.

“If you want it to heal properly then stop picking at it. One of your subjects decided to make a nest in my parchment. Again. I thought you already spoke to them about them,” Arthur commented, hitting the back of King's head when he started to pick at the bandages. Arthur pulled the yogurt and fruit out of the fridge and grinned when King made a strange sound.

“I already did. Apparently, your parchment makes good nesting materials. Don’t ask why because I don’t know. Have you tried to lock the do – didn’t work did it,” King asked, cutting himself off when he saw the long Arthur was giving him and had to stop himself from laughing. His lips kept twitching. He was trying very hard not to smile.

“Locking the door never stopped you. Can you at _least_ ask them not to use parchment? I don’t want to have to rewrite _that_ scene again. It was a nightmare. Here. Don’t eat too quickly, you’ll choke, again. I already told you its not going to disappear. Take your time,” Arthur briefly ranted, placing the bowl of fruit and yogurt in front of King. Arthur grinned sheepishly and went to open his mouth but closed it again and swallowed. 

“What can I say. It was interesting. I can ask. I don’t think they like getting ink in their fur. Apparently, it tastes bad… not that I … shut up. I know it won’t, old habits die hard. It’s been so long. It’s been forever since I had fresh fruit and you know it,” King replied, blushing when Arthur tilted his head back, one eyebrow raised with a knowing smile on his face.

Dark and Wilford shared a concerned look. Arthur and King were usually close. They had noticed how King would silently ask Arthur for permission for things and let him pick what King was going to eat. It was generally fruit, yogurt, nuts and grain cereal. The argument they had witnessed earlier was confusing. They knew there was something they were missing but didn't know what it was. 

The sad look on Arthur's face at the mention of King not getting to eat fresh fruit all that often was curious. Dark and Wilford were pulled from their thoughts when King made that sound. It sounded like a cat purring but somehow different. Arthur relaxed; his eyes were half-lidded. King grinned and grabbed Arthur's hand and tugged him into his seat. Arthur stumbled a bit but managed to sit down. 

He blinked, seemly coming out of whatever trance he had been in when he was finally seated. He glared at King though Wilford could tell he wasn't as annoyed as he looked. King grinned, he knew exactly what he was doing, over the next two weeks Dark, Wilford and Dr Iplier noticed more concerning signs. Dark and Wilford knew they needed to talk to King but something always come up and they _never_ seemed to have the time

It was like something or someone was preventing them from asking Arthur and King what was going on. The egos learned some...interesting things about Arthur with King around, Arthur did _not_ share his food with _anyone_ but Prince and King. The first time Dr Iplier accidentally took something from Arthur's plate was the first time they learned just how... protective Arthur was of his food.

Dark couldn't ever remember Arthur being like that with Damien, William and Mark. He was always happy to share his food with them and would only complain a little. King just watched with a tired look on his face, picked up Arthur's coffee cup, took a sip, pulled a face and added something in a brown box to it, taking another sip with another sip, a satisfied look on his face, his smile only got wider and waited for Arthur to notice.

“King! Good god. What are you? 2-years- old. Stop putting nut milk in my coffee and stop stealing my food you brat,” Arthur huffed clearly annoyed, he didn't function well without coffee as they had found out. King didn't seem at all concerned, completely ignoring the glare Arthur was giving him. 

“Eat more often and I _might_ stop. You don’t hate it and yet you still drink it,” King replied sounding far too smug, Arthur rolled his eyes at King when he stole some toast from his plat. Dark watched the two of them banter. King had relaxed over the last three weeks, Dark figured he's just been nervous and stuck to Arthur because he was the only one he knew.

Dark had noticed King would horde nuts. There were piles hidden all over the Manor. King would sometimes fall, instead of getting up he would scamper around like a squirrel. He was _very_ good at impersonating his 'subjects'. Dr Iplier had heard him chitter and bark in the middle of speaking, stop and Arthur would say a word a few times and King would repeat it. 

The egos present the day Arthur got shot would never be able to forget King scream. It echoed through the forest, King and Arthur had gone to get something from the cabin. Arthur would sometimes go back to get things and to 'get away from the insanity' that was life in the Manor. When King returned he had someone with him. He looked like Arthur but not at the same time.

He didn't have eyes or didn't appear to have eyes. Bloody bandages were wrapped around over his eyes. The blank looked on King's face was the worst thing about the whole situation. He was always smiling and happy. Dr Iplier had checked Host over, he still had eyes but something had happened making them bleed near constantly. King took Host to Arthur's room and disappeared for three weeks. 

Prince was always with Host, if he didn't eat his food then Prince would. It took _months _for things to return to normal. During that time King very rarely left his room. When he did, he would say anything. 

Google and Bing had no idea why King was so upset until Wilford showed them the videos the RJ and CJ had taken. The day Dark knew things had returned to the new normal was when he walked into the kitchen to Host with an outraged look on his face as a _very_ smug King drinking from Arthur's coffee cup. Everyone relaxed. They had been working on eggshells around King and Host. 

It took all the egos several months to get used to having Host around. King and Prince didn't like the androids or Ed to begin with but soon relaxed. Prince, however, would not tolerate Ed or Wilford wearing their guns inside the Manor. King was tense and weary if either of them had their guns, even if they weren't visible. They figured whatever had happened to Arthur had involved a gun. 

Prince loved Bim though refused to go anywhere _near_ him if he was in an excessive amount of glitter. The one time Prince had made the mistake of jumping on Bim when he was covered in glitter it got _all _over Prince. He looked pretty but was a _very_ unhappy squirrel. Prince ran off and King appeared, covered in glitter looking none to pleased and like he contemplating murdering someone.

King was covered head to toe in glitter. Host was trying and failing to not laugh before snapping his fingers and cleaning King up. King and Prince were usually good at judging someone's character as they found out when Derek, Reynolds and Eric arrived. Wilford had noticed a week after the three egos had arrived that King and Prince made an effort to stand between Derek and his son. 

Eric had been nerves around the giant, fluffy black, red, brown and white squirrel but he soon relaxed and told him about his father, the next day Derek was attacked by Prince when Derek tried to touch Eric when his ignored him. 

“Ah, it seems you met Prince,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get chapter 6 written but it honestly depends on how tired I am from work. Please comment and tell me what you think. If you loved this chapter than please leave a kudos.


	6. Bruises, Blood & nuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric meets Prince and Derek finds the manor's resident squirrels are none to happy with him for some unknown reason and their 'King' doesn't seem to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, here's the newest SK chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Date: 31/10/19 – 01/11/10  
Time: 7:04 pm – 1:40 pm

“Ah, it seems you’ve met Prince” Wilford commented when Eric walked into the kitchen with Prince on his shoulder, who wasn't even _trying _to stop the squirrels from attacking Derek. They bit scratched and clawed at him. RJ and CJ were the only other people the squirrels had attacked after they had thrown things at them. 

There was something different about it this time, it was somehow more vicious, the look in their beady little eyes was frankly terrifying. Dark knew he would have to speak to King about controlling his "subjects" better. Dark, Wilford, Dr Iplier, Reynolds, Bim and Ed were shocked when Prince _bit_ Derek when he tried to touch Eric. Something he had never done in the past. 

No matter how much he disliked someone he would _never_ bite them. Prince glared at Derek who quickly backed away from Eric. Prince nuzzled the side of Eric's head and fixed his hair. There was something threatening about the look in Prince's eyes as he glared at Derek, chittering something to one of the squirrels before jumping off Eric's shoulder.

One of the smaller red, brown and white squirrel took Prince's place. Dark knew Prince had gone to the treehouse, most likely to get King and inform of what happened. True to form, King appeared 15 minutes later dressed in his normal clothes. There was something... different about the way he held himself. Derek glared at King as soon as he walked into the kitchen. 

“That rodent bit me after the others vermin, bit, scratched and clawed at me. You need to get better control over them,” Derek snapped, glaring at an unconcerned King which was usual, normal King would have panicked at hearing his subjects had attacked someone other than the Nightmare Twins. It had happened a few times in the past.

He had been frantic, why Dark wasn't sure but knew they would find out at some point in the future. King stared at Derek for a few seconds, a blank look on his face, it cleared and he smirked, he looked a lot like Arthur in that moment as he got fruit and yogurt from the fridge, ruffling Eric's hair as he walked past.

Eric stared at King with a dazed look on his face, all tension bled from the young egos body. Dark had noticed King was able to relax people, he wasn't sure why but it felt like they were the middle of a forest on a warm day. 

“His name is Prince. They are squirrels, not vermin. I’m sure they had a reason. They never attack anyone without a reason. Maybe next time you should keep your hands to yourself and _might_ not bite you,” King answered coldly shocking Dark, Bim, Ed, Wilford, Host, Ben and Dr Iplier. King was one of the friendliest egos, the sudden change in personality was a shock.

The look he was giving Derek was _not_ friendly. His eyes seemed to glow a greenish-gold colour. That only ever happened he was angry which didn't happen often. For a split-second, Dark was _certain_ he was looking at Arthur. King was _not_ pleased with Derek. He would _not_ let that horrid human hurt someone like Eric. He had known something wasn't right with the newest egos as soon as they arrived.

* * *

_It wasn't until King had gone past Eric's room on the way to the library as Prince did he find out just how correct that feeling was. He had pushed open Eric door when he heard what sounded like crying and was shocked to find Eric curled up at the foot of his bed covered in scratches and bruises. His lip was bleeding, he looked terrified when Prince pushed the door open but relaxed when he saw it wasn't his father._

_Prince closed the door and made his way over to Eric, noticing how bare the room was. There would have been at least _something _in the room to show it belonged to someone despite Eric, his father and Reynolds only being here a week. _

_“Ha…hello. What are you doing here?” _ _Eric questioned, holding his hand out, his voice was raspy and quiet. Prince nudged Eric's hand and hopped closer as Eric giggled, he gently licked the cuts on Eric's arm ignoring his shock gasp when the cuts started to heal and he started to relax a bit. Prince slowly licked the cuts and scratches. He rested his hands against Eric's chest as he licked the younger egos face. _

_He giggled but didn't turn his away. Prince pawed at Eric's prosthetics, they looked like they were made completely of duct tape than anything else. It was marical they didn't fall apart. He looked up at Eric, gently nudging Eric's hand, the younger ego sighed and started to tell him how he lost his legs and what his father was doing to him, Prince listened, comforting Eric when he needed it and trying not to show much how Eric's story was affecting him. _

_How could anyone do that to a child? Eric had done nothing wrong and yet Derek still beat him. Prince had helped many fathers who'd lost their mates and were only left with one kit. He made sure to watch them carefully and made sure they had plenty of help and support. He did _not_ condone abuse or cannibalism which _did_ sometimes happen after the death of the person mate._

_The squirrel responsible was exiled from the group. Others may have allowed it but he didn't. There was no reason for it. _

* * *

There was more than enough room for everyone. King made sure there was always a squirrel with Eric after then. Host was a little concerned when Prince didn't come to the library to get him like he normally did. Derek only tired to hurt his son once after Prince bit him. The day the other egos found out what Derek was doing to his son was terrifying... for Derek. 

Wilford, Dark, Bim and The Google's were shocked when King walked into the meeting room while they tortured Derek to make sure Host ate something. He uncaringly walked right over Derek, 'accidentally' stepping on the horrible human. Seemly not at all bothered when he heard something crack and Derek screamed. He just handed Host his lunch and stared down at Derek with a blank look on his face.

“What makes you think I’m going to _stop them_ from torturing you. I have never and will never condone child abuse. Neither does Arthur, too bad he’s not here. He’d love to meet you, you’d make the _perfect_ main character for one of his stories. Oh well, maybe next time. This will do for the moment,” King replied coldly when Derek started pleading for his help. 

Dark, Bim, Wilford, Host and The Google’s watched as King glowed a forest green colour and Derek screamed. The look in King’s eyes was frankly terrifying before he turned and walked out of the room. None of them could look at King the same way after that.

“What…the hell… was that?” Bim questioned, he had always thought King was a little nutty but otherwise fine. Host opened his mouth to answer but closed it again. He had _never_ seen King react like that. It was terrifying. He felt like Arthur, it was almost like The Author was standing over Derek for a split second. If Eric had told King what had happened, then his and the squirrels' protective attitudes made sense

“The Host isn’t sure. King does _not_ condone child abuse and a few other things. I have only seen him that upset a handful of times, those memories belong to Arthur,” Host replied he seemed to be in shock, not that Dark could blame him, that had been terrifying. Derek was a whimpering mess on the floor and King hadn't even touched him. They were wearier around the 'weaker' egos after that.

There was a chance that something … unpleasant could happen if they were to snap.

It took Eric months to recover from what his father did to him but he eventually got there. He knew the other egos had done _something_ to them and King had something to do with it but he didn't know what. He would still occasionally flinch when someone went to touch him. It took him a while to get used to eating three meals a day, as they found out Derek had been starving him. 

The Google's made Eric new prosthetics when Eric nearly cracked his skull open his duct-tape covered prosthetics broke, or he would have if King hadn't caught him. Despite the fact, King hadn't actually been in the kitchen. They hadn't thought much of it and went on with their day. They had been concerned when they found King teaching Eric how to climb the big oak tree after he got stuck. 

King was _unnaturally_ good at climbing despite he often seemed to fall _out_ of trees. Not once did Eric fall. Bim had no idea why he felt so drawn to the obviously nutty ego. Being around him was relaxing and he was easy to get along with. He was afraid King would be angry and disgusted that he was cannibal but was surprised that King was okay with it, only requesting that he clean up before coming to bed.

King had been in a relationship with Bim for almost 8 months when the entire manor was woken up by a very loud and skill screeching from the one of the squirrel's. King was up and out of the room he shared with Bim faster than Bim could process being that he was still half asleep. By the time he and the other egos got outside King and who they assumed was Prince ran into the forest. 

When King reappeared, he looked furious. He was covered in twigs, leaves, dirt and blood that was leaking down his arms, face and chest. His shirt had been torn up and used as bandages for an injured squirrel. Another squirrel was following him looking sullen but Prince was nowhere to be seen. Host already had a first aid kit ready for King.

He looked alarmed when he saw King. The squirrel following King stayed by the kitchen door while King fixed the other squirrel. 

“Wha-what happened to King?” RJ asked yarning, shrinking back when King turned and glared at them, his eyes were a bright greenish-gold, RJ and CJ yelped when King's aura slammed them into the wall next to the kitchen counter much like Arthur had done when RJ and CJ had hurt Prince and he had found out. They weren't sure what was more terrifying, King or Arthur.

“Squirrels, you idiots, are cannibals when there’s not enough food or shelter. I _know_ you’ve been poisoning the food Dark provides for them for _years_. I did warn you. Thankfully I was able to get there in time to stop a chain reaction. Leave my subjects alone,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please comment and tell me what you think.


	7. Blood, Sticks & Broken & Burned Nuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King is not pleased with The Jim's. The Host as a horrible and terrifying vision and new egos come to the mano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm SO sorry, its taken me so long to get around to writing this. I know I should have gotten this up sooner but I have been so busy between work, uni and being sick I just haven't found the time. Please enjoy. I would advise reading Yancy Is Eric's Oldest Brother before reading this chapter.

Date: 01/11/19 – 28/11/19  
Time: 8:30 pm – 10:22 pm

"Squirrels, you idiot, are cannibals when there's not enough food or shelter. I _know_ you've been poisoning the food Dark's providing. Thankfully I was able to stop a chain reaction. Leave my subject's alone," King growled, glaring at RJ and CJ, he looked like he was close to murdering them. Bim was certain King had _claws_ but wasn't sure if he was seeing things due to being so tired. 

Bim stared at King. It now made sense why King was so okay with him being a cannibal. There was a large scratch mark on the side of King's face, blood dripped down his face from the scratch mark. 

"Wha-what do you mean you were able to stop a chain reaction?" RJ questioned, finally realised just how badly he and his brother had fucked up. The only other time they had seen King this upset was when Derek had attacked Eric, _that_ had been terrifying and not something they ever wanted to repeat again. 

"It means you, idiots, that it'll start a chain reaction of cannibalism. As soon as the first squirrel kills it starts a chain reaction, one I _won't be able to stop_," King growled, RJ and CJ hid behind Bim, wanting to get away from the clearly angry ego. Bim felt the need to defend RJ and CJ. They didn't know anything better but ... couldn't. Something was stopping him. Even though the RJ and CJ hadn't known, Bim knew they _should_ have known. 

"How did you get so scratched up?" Dr Iplier questioned, concerned about the amount of blood dripping down King's face, arms and chest from the deep scratches, wanting very much to get them clean to prevent any infections. King opened his mouth to reply when Host darted into the kitchen beyond panicked. King winced, the blind ego looked horrible, the half-dried blood was mixing with the tears dripping down his face.

"Stopping a group of squirrels from attacking and _eating_ each other is a lot harder than you think it is. Host calm down, I'm fine. Just a little beaten. What did you see in your vision?" King answered grabbed some paper towel and cleaned Host's face carefully, stopping when Host grabbed his face and made King look at him. The height difference was comical given King had to _look down_ at Host. 

Host didn't say anything, King shivered when he felt Host's aura washed over him. It felt like Arthur's aura but different, King wasn't sure how. He stayed still while Host checked him over trying not to fidget even though he wanted to. It always tickled and made him want to fidget, he wasn't sure why Arthur found it amusing. Dr Iplier wanted to tell Host to stop touching King injuries but found he was unable to. 

He had always found King closeness to Arthur and Host strange. It was unnatural and the Author was dangerous as was the Host even though he didn't _look_ dangerous he was. Just in a different way that was no less terrifying. Arthur had been perfectly charming and magnetic, you wanted to be around him and you _wanted_ to please him even though a part of you was screaming at you to run...

Much like the feeling Dr Iplier would sometimes get around Dark. It was disconcerting. He had yet to completely figure out the demon or any the other inhabitance of the Manor. He never felt fully able to relax, something was always happening. It was absolute _chaos_. It had taken him a while to get used to the chaos. At the time it felt like he was the only sane one.

"Host, what did you see?" Dark questioned concerned, Host never bled that heavily unless he had an intense vision, he always had a roll of bandages with him in case his eyes started to bleed due to overworking his 'sight' and having to rest his eyes for a little while or he had a vision and his eyes started to bleed. Host turned to look at Dark with his pale gold dead eyes. 

Dark shivered. Host didn't answer, turning back to King. 

"Host, I'm fine. You _know_ I'm more resilient to damage. I've been alive for too long. These aren't the worst injuries I've gotten," King reassured pressing his forehead against Host's, trying to reassure him that he was alright. He was a little concerning when he felt Host shaking and figured he didn't want to say anything, he didn't want the other egos to know King was actually a squirrel with the ability to turn into a human 

He shook his head, silently and grabbed King's had and started to pull out of the room though not before King chittered _something_ at the two squirrels, allowing Host to drag him upstairs. Bim stared after his boyfriend and the radio show Host wondering what was going on, he hoped King would explain later. He had always found Host a little creepy. He hadn't been around when Arthur was alive.

Why Bim wasn't sure and he wasn't brave enough to ask. He had been a little jealous of Host and King's relationship as Host seemed to be the only person King was truly comfortable around. He had calmed down after King explained that he had known Host and The Author for a long time. They had helped him a great deal. He had seen the video and knew what Author had to the Twins. 

He had seen the video RJ and CJ had of Arthur and knew what he had done to the Twins. The Author was not a man you wanted to piss off. Bim could tell, even though the videos it was hard for people to not do what The Author wanted even if they, themselves didn't want to do what he was asking they did it anyway. He shook his head, silently grabbing King's hand and started to pull out of the room though not before

There were times where Host needed his help with his stories. King was more than happy to help as he did for Arthur. Bim never questioned King on his relationship with the Author or what it was like because the squirrel-like ego always looked so sad whenever The Author was mentioned. He would spend a lot of time with after someone mentioned the Author within earshot. 

Wilford and Dark shared a worried look, they had never seen Host that panicked before, whatever he had seen must have truly shaken him. They knew King and Host weren't telling them something but had decided to let them decide when to tell them what was going on instead of forcing them. 

* * *

**HOST'S ROOM**

"Okay, what did you see?" King questioned after Host pushed him into his room, locked the door, using his powers to ensure no one could get in though it didn't seem to be a conscious thing. He was panicking. King grunted when Host pushed him into the bed and crawled on making it obvious, he wanted to cuddle which wasn't something that had happened since Host had first appeared after Arthur had been shot. 

"You weren't able to stop them. You ended up getting seriously injured and only just making it back to the manor before you fainted. The Jim's didn't get punished. You just barely survived after being in a coma for almost 4 months, the forest started to die. There was nothing any of us could do. You had transformed back into Prince. That's how they found out what you could do," Host rambled, tears starting to drip down his face. 

“The Author and Arthur... weren't… pleased... they were scared, and everything went to hell. Please don't die?" Host pleaded; tears dripped down his face as he stared up at King with pale gold eyes. King pulled him into a tight hug. His chest felt tight. There was a _POOF _and Prince was curled in Host's arm as the man cried into his fur.

* * *

King knew there was more to the vision that Host wasn't telling him, but King knew Host would tell him everything later when he had calmed down and convinced himself and his aura King was safe and alive if a little beaten. They stayed like that for the better part of an hour, King chittered softly to his human, become more and more concerned the longer he cried

Whatever else he had seen in that vision must have _terrified _him which wasn't easy. Host had seen a lot of things and wasn't easily shaken easily so for this to affect him so much. It must have been horrible. King turned into a human again curling tighter around his human, trying to make him feel safe and reassure him that everything was going to be okay.

He tensed a little when he felt Host's aura wrapped around him but soon relaxed. He knew it would take time for his human to calm down. He learned that with Arthur when he had a particularly bad vision, it left him sobbing and shaking for _hours_. He never told King what he saw in those visions even though King knew he had written then down in a blood-stained notebook

Despite his curiosity, he never asked. 

Arthur would tell him when he was ready. He knew some of the things Arthur had seen what little he knew was horrifying. He had figured out Arthur kept seeing visions of three different people. Horrible things happened to each of them. He wasn't sure how _anyone, _let alone enhanced human who was tougher to kill normal could survive to have heavy studio lights fall on them.

Not once but _twice, _breaking almost every bone in their body.

This person (the Red One as Arthur called him) had been hurt someone whoever Arthur could never tell King but they hated The Red One enough to try and kill them. The visons about the other two were downright disturbing. Involving the Green One being tortured by some priests. They cut out the two tattoos he had almost to the bone and filled the 'holes' with oil, salt and something else before _setting it on fire_

The visions about the last person were _horrible, _some visions involved him being whipped, having oil salt and hot water thrown on him, being beaten up by... someone. Arthur could see who it was hurting Rain. Sometimes there were visions of other people. Visions about the Candy One were particularly bad. He was so hurt and sad and angry after everything he had seen through. 

He was hurt by the same person who was hurting the Red One. 

Arthur never told him what happened in those vision, but King thought it was probably best he didn't know as Arthur was often a horrible wreck after those visions. King only knew so much due to Arthur screaming and pleading during the vision. King didn't know _why_ the visions about the Candy One and the Red One hit him harder than the ones about Rain and the Green One.

It was only after he and Arthur had moved into the Manor did he understand _exactly _why Arthur has effected so much his visions about The Candy One and the Red One and after hearing about their lives.

King had come to dread those visions. Arthur was always so violent afterwards, speaking in a language King didn't know but felt he _should_ know. It was frankly terrifying as this sort of violence was different from the one that came when he was frustrated. This was desperate violence, there was nothing he could do which frustrated him even more. 

He wanted to help but couldn't. King had asked if there was anything, they could do to help them, and Arthur had told him there wasn't, the events that happened in his visions about the Red One and the Candy one had already happened and there was nothing he could do about it

* * *

Host hugged King tighter, burying his face in King's shoulder, trying to convince himself that King was perfectly safe and very much alive but couldn't. He couldn't stop seeing a bloody and beaten Prince dragging himself into the kitchen, returning to his human form and falling into a coma, that was how Dark and Wilford found out King was actually a squirrel.

They had been alarmed and called Dr Iplier but didn't say anything about King actually being a squirrel.

They questioned him later. Host shuddered as he remembered the questions, they asked him the vision. They were horrible. He and Arthur had never King, they had nothing to do with King turning into a human. It was just something that happened and they didn't understand why. He knew Wilford and Dark hadn't believed him. He knew they thought King was dependent on Arthur do the way King often acted.

It had taken King a _long_ time to get used to being human and he hadn't been sure how to act. When it was just him and Arthur, he could act like himself and didn't have to pretend to be a human, but he had when he was around the other egos and would often ask Arthur for permission to do things. He had no idea how to act around them and was very much like a child even though Hoosr he wasn't. 

Host explained to Wilford and Dark that King only acted that way because he wasn't used to being human and was still learning. He wasn't sure what to do or how to act and was very much like a child even though he wasn't and had been around him for a very long time. Far longer than Host or even Arthur. They had never asked.

Wilford and Dark been a bit more understanding but had still demanded to know why they hadn't told them. Host honestly had no idea why. It had never been something had really come up. It had been mentioned briefly but he hadn't wanted to know. He would tell them when he was ready.

Host shivered when he remembered the forest starting to die, the oak tree looked horrible, it lost all of his leaves. The only rarely saw the squirrel that used to live in it. King finally woke up after 4 months and being so weak and unable to hold his human shape. Host had to explain what was going on, the egos finally understood that King really was the King of the Squirrel's and it wasn't just a lie.

RJ and CJ had gone so pale Host thought they might faint. They had likely realised anytime they hurt Prince, they were actually hurt King. They apologised but Host had just stared at them and hugged King tighter, wanting to use his powers but knew he wouldn't be able to. That's when The Author appeared, he picked up King, healed him and healed King easily, clearly unhappy. Black ink leaked from his back 

The egos present in the kitchen were terrified. The Author had been... pleased with RJ and CJ as it was their fault this had happened in the first place. He had tortured them and made it clear that if King didn't survive then he would kill them, painfully and slowly as he _knew_ they had been poisoning King's tree which he was connected to as he was the Guardian of the Forest. 

Them poisoning the tree had only made King's chance to survive even less had only made King's chance to survive even less likely then it was if they hadn't. Thankfully for RJ and CJ King _had_ survived but he was very week for _months_ and spent a lot of with Host, he stopped pretending he was completely human even though he hadn't quite acted human before. 

He didn't have the energy to keep up the act anymore. It was so obvious they were wondering how they didn't see it before. After the Accident, King wouldn't leave him alone. Host had gotten used to King sleeping with after that. He wasn't coping very well with the loss of His Human. Host had stared at him for a good 10 minutes after he had Narrated that thought. 

King had panicked and tried to explain himself. It was hilarious, in a sad sort of way and really cute. Host didn't mind King thinking of him and Arthur as 'His Humans'. It had taken King a while to get to Host but he managed. He spent most of that time as a squirrel. Any time he wasn't a squirrel he was touching Host in some way. He missed Arthur a great deal. 

Host heart had melted when King had called him 'Dad' when he was close to falling asleep. He was King's father. He had taught him how to act like a human.

King was incredibly embarrassed the next day when he realised what he said but was relieved when Host told him he didn't mind. Host wished he could heal King like Arthur could but that wasn't something he could so without the use of a pen and paper. He didn't know the full extent of his powers and didn't know if that was something he could actually do.

He knew he could still control people with his words but didn't know if he could still heal King. It was something he wasn't willing to try at the moment. He would try later, hopefully, it would work and King would be perfectly fine. He wanted to strangle RJ and CJ. He had come so close to losing his son because of them. 

Host paused and realised he thought of King's as his son, even though King was older than him, at least when he was human he acted very much like a child, and had relied on Arthur and Host to help him learn how to act like a human, it was perfect and he still maintained some of his squirrel tendencies but he was getting better. He knew King wouldn't mind, given the egos had already called him "Dad".

"Dad, I’m safe. I’ve had worse injuries than this in the past. I’m not going to die, please calm down," King tried to again, he blushed a bit when he called Host 'Dad'. It wasn't something he did unless he was incredibly tried but knew it was something His Human needed at the moment to reassure him that everything was truly alright and that he was okay.

It took Host a few weeks to fully over his frightening vision. He did _eventually_ tell King what had happened in the vision. King had been horrified and was more than glad that hadn't happened. That was _not_ the way he had imagined the egos finding out that he was a squirrel with the ability to turn into a human.

The other egos were much more... weary around King and his Squirrels after that. Dark had punished RJ and CJ by taking away their equipment and grounded them for a month, giving their spots to either Wilford or Bim and were tasked with researching Cannibalism in Squirrels. They quickly realised how much danger they had put King in and how lucky he was to get off with so few injuries. 

Squirrels, as it turned out, could do a _lot of _damage if they wanted.

King was surprised to find Yancy, one of the newest Ego's after A HEIST WITH MARKIPLIER come out was Eric's oldest brother and had only gone to prison because Derek had threatened to shoot in head to 'encourage' Yancy to give him money. When Yancy told Derek he would "think about it" he shot Eric in the head and called the police blaming Yancy for attempted murder as the shot thankfully hadn't killed Eric.

It made King wish he had insisted Dark, Host, Bim, The Google's and Ed had taken longer killing Derek. Though then again, nice thing about the fan's hating Derek so much was that he was bound to come back and they could kill him again which gave King the idea to start a list of the different ways they wanted to murder Derek. It was rather long at at this point. 

“Eric, why do youse have a giant, fluffy squirrel on your shoulder?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done. Hopefully, you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Everything after the second paragraph was written between November 26 and 28. Yes, Host and King have a father/son type relationship as did Arthur and King. Mostly due to the fact Arthur taught King how to adjust to turning into a human and how to come off as somewhat human. 
> 
> King has been around for a VERY long time but as a human, he acts very much like 2 or 3-year-old child. Host and Arthur would do anything to protect King much like King would for them. They are HIS humans and he doesn't appreciate others hurting or being mean to them. He might be able to turn into a human but he IS still a squirrel.


	8. Nuts, Spices & Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yancy finally meets Prince and ends up getting trapped in a cupboard only for Prince to rescue him before King has to leave to get The Host more parchment. He's run out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Chapter 8 is finally here. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this finished and posted. I was determined to get it finished and posted before the end of the year and the decade. This chapter takes place before Aftermath and MFC Chapter 3: Sushi Snuggles. Please enjoy

Date: 29/11/19 – 31/12/19  
Time: 4:32 pm – 6:56 pm

“Eric, why do you youse have a giant fluffy squirrel on youse shoulder?” Yancy questioned when Eric walked into the kitchen with Prince on his shoulder. Prince jumped off his shoulder and landed on the table and scampered over to Yancy. Eric was surprised to see his big brother up so early, then remembered his time at Happy Trails Penitentiary, the prisoners were often forced to get up early eat.

Yancy was still getting used to being on parole and not having a set routine, not having to ask permission to for things or there is a risk of him being thrown in solitary for breaking a rule. Eric had noticed his brother seemed to fear Dark, never looking the entity in the eye and would do as he was told without question

Eric knew Dark wasn't used to immediate obedience from anyone in the Manor other than Beta and his brothers. Yes, the egos did what Dark wanted but only when they wanted to and because they respected him. Yancy had been at the manor for a week and had to get to relax around Dark as Illinois had. 

Eric reassured Yancy that Dark was nothing like Warden Murder-Slaughter, true he might be intimidating but he would never hurt any of them on purpose. Yancy was still weary and couldn’t help but wonder what Murder-Slaughter had been like. He hadn’t told his little brother anything about his time at Happy Trails State Penitentiary.

"This is Prince. He's Host's companion. You'll see him around the Manor," Eric answered absentmindedly as he watched Prince nudged Yancy's hand. He knew from King, that squirrels often sniffed someone's fingers and their wrist to get that persons scent. Eric had been surprised when Prince appeared at the end of his bed.

Yancy had no idea how the squirrel had been even gotten into his room given that the door was closed but he knew from the other egos that closing and locking their doors and windows did nothing to stop any of the squirrels living in the Manor from getting in. He had heard Host complaining to King about telling the squirrels to stop using his parchment as nesting materials. 

By the other egos reactions, this was a long-standing problem.

Yancy stared at Prince, not sure what to do. He had met King and had thought he acted very much like a squirrel would if they were able to turn into a human but that wasn't possible. At least, Yancy didn't think they could. Prince nudged Yancy's hand. Eric had to stop himself from laughing at the unsure look on his brother's face. Like he had no idea what to do or say.

His brother had always been nerves around small things. Whether it be animals or children. Eric had asked him once and was surprised when Yancy told him he had to be careful as he could easily hurt them. It made sense to his three-year-old self. Yancy was so big and strong, of course, he had to be careful.

Now, it didn't make sense but if he was stronger than a normal human-like Mark was, then it made sense. He had seen his brother toss a man who appeared to be stronger than him _across a room _with ease

"Relax, he's not going to break nor is going to bite you. Unless you say something mean about Host. He’s mostly harmless," Eric reassured but knew he hadn't succeeded when he saw the disbelieving look on Yancy was giving him. Yancy looked from his brother to the giant squirrel. There was nothing even remotely harmless about him.

For one, those claws looked sharp enough to slice skin but he didn't look upset, just curious. Yancy lifted his hand slowly, trying not to flinch when Prince nuzzled his hand, his fur was so soft. Yancy found himself unconsciously stroking him, finding tension he didn't know he had slipped from him like water when Prince made a strange sound in his chest.

Eric grinned when he saw Yancy relax. Prince had that effect on everyone. King sniffed the new human's hand, gently nudging it and purring a little when he started to pet his fur. He looked so unsure about everything. Yancy smelled like motor oil, smoke, Eric, sort of dusty like the library but not and something spicy and warm, likely caused by the gel he used in his hair.

King shifted closer when he was sure Yancy had relaxed, leaning against his chest and sniffing at his neck. Yancy smelled like some of the winged creatures in the forest surrounding the manor, it was faded but still there, under the smell of an old injury and lingering pain caused. Yancy tensed when Prince buried his head in his neck but soon relaxed.

Yancy knew he shouldn't have gone exploring. It never ended well. He ended up slipping, landing in a part of the Manor he didn't recognise. It looked like it hadn't been used in a long time, all the room Yancy checked were dusty. He couldn't help but smile when he found the piano. He fingers twitched. He really wanted to play it but didn't want to get into trouble. 

He went to step towards the piano when he felt himself falling and he was suddenly in a very dark and cold room. It was small. He couldn't stretch his arms out fully. He could feel himself starting to panic, he knew he was safe, there was nothing to worry about. Despite knowing that he still panicked. In the beginning, The Warden had locked him in the small cells in solitary before he had been 'given' his 'chair'.

King purred as he buried himself further into Host's bedding. It was nice and warm. He groaned when he felt something tug him. He sat up looking around the room. He had always known there was something strange about the Manor. It seemed to have a personality of its own. He sighed and transformed when he saw a black tendril that could have been Dark's aura, but King knew it wasn't.

He followed the show to the unused part of the Manor, it was a part of the Manor that hadn't been touched for at least 100 years. It was likely he had stepped into another universe, one where the Manor had been abandoned but hadn't become worn down, but he knew he was in another universe. He frowned when the shadow lead him to a closed door. 

He could hear a faint thumping and realised someone was trapped inside. He jumped up and tried to pull the door open only find the door was locked. He jumped down and tried to find the key. It was sitting on top of the big oak desk in the middle of the room, he was careful to not mess up the neat stack of paperwork as he grabbed the key and went to unlock the door. 

He briefly transformed back into a human and wrote a quick note to whoever owned the office so they would know where the key was if they ever needed to lock the door again. HE was shocked when Yancy stumbled out, how on earth had he gotten here. Yancy stumbled out of the cupboard, flinching a little when Prince started to groom his hair. 

Yancy stood on shaky legs, Prince lead him out of the room, they soon made their way back to the familiar part of the Manor completely forgetting to shut the closet door to the office they were in. When the office's owner came back he was incredibly confused until he saw the letter on his desk and couldn't help on his desk and couldn't help but smile. 

“Really Tenebrae. He’s been through enough don’t you think. It’s a little too soon to visit them. We’ll go soon though”

* * *

**With Yancy and Prince**

Eric was surprised when he Yancy walked into the kitchen with Prince kitting on his shoulder. They had been missing for several hours. Host started to laugh as soon as they walked into the room startling all the egos. It was rare for Host to laugh at anything (Dark had heard him laugh before but he hadn't laughed since he arrived at the Manor).

The egos found it creepy when he did because he would never tell them _what_ he was laughing at though Prince and King always seemed to understand. 

“The two of you have been missing for several hours. I have no idea why he led you there but at least your safe and didn’t run into anyone. Prince could you get King for me, I’ve run out of parchment again,” Host answered Dark started at the radio show host wondering what he was talking about. Prince nodded, jumped off Yancy shoulder and ran out of the Manor.

King walked into the kitchen 10 minutes later, picking leaves out of his hair. It was strange seeing King without his cape or crown. The squirrel on his shoulder jumped on Yancy's shoulder and made herself at home on the ex-con's shoulder. Yancy carefully pets the squirrel.

“You need to stop writing so much. I thought the parchment would have last you a little bit longer this time. Retta behave yourself,” King stated, Host just grinned and shrugged, the egos stared at the two wondering what was going on. This was the first time Host asked King to get him more parchment since he arrived at Manor. At least to Dark's knowledge anyway. 

King kissed the side of his adopted father's head, accepting the bag Host handed him and left the Manor, he couldn't help the large grin stretching across his face as soon entered the forest. It had been such a long time since Host had 'run out of parchment'. He followed the familiar path to the cabin and push opened the door and felt himself being transported to the human world.

“King? What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please remembered to comment and tell me what you think. I will see you next year. Who do you think King went to see?


End file.
